Keeping It Simple

The layout of your resume will play a big role in your success at being noticed. The golden rule is to keep it simple.

Below are some valuable tips to ensure your document stands out from your competition-

1. White Space – Make sure you use plenty of white space as this will make your document easier to read. Never use narrow margins. If an employer has spent several hours trawling through hundreds of resumes, they will be more likely to notice the resume that looks appealing to the eye.

2. Bullet Points – Use these sparingly. I would only use bullet points to highlight the most important information such as achievements and featured results. If you scatter bullet points all throughout your resume, it will just look too busy.

3. Length – Gone are the days when we needed to include every single detail of our working history! Only include the most relevant information. As a rule, the length of a standard Australian resume should be between 3 and 5 pages. I still see 12 page resumes and they are just a waste of time. No one has the time to dedicate to reading a document that long. The reader will quickly scan the front page and if you grab their interest, then they will continue reading. The most important areas to focus on will be that last 10 years of your employment history.